Two founding members of the VFL will meet in a Grand Final for the very first time on Saturday, when Geelong battles Sydney (nee South Melbourne) for the 2022 flag.
But these two old clubs have a rivalry that dates back further than the VFL itself, founded in 1897 – as they were the dominant sides of the game’s formative years.
And while they have never played in a Grand Final before, the clubs have played in a premiership decider – a 1886 clash colloquially known as The Match Of The Century.
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This was in the time of the VFA (Victorian Football Association). Over the first 11 years of the formative Australian rules competition, the premier wasn’t even determined on the field – they were declared via press consensus.
From then on, the best season-long record decided the premier. It wasn’t until 1896, the year before an off-field power struggle saw the strongest clubs split from the VFA to create the VFL, that a Grand Final was played.
So in 1886, we were still in the era without a Grand Final. Yet the fixture played out in such a way to create one, between the Geelong Pivotonians and South Melbourne Bloods.
The two clubs had dominated the decade. The Bloods were the major club in metropolitan Melbourne, having merged with Albert Park in 1880, winning the 1881 and 1885 premierships. The Pivotonians (named for the city’s nickname, The Pivot) had won the other six.
These sides were powerful at a time when the game was still at a formative stage. There was no clear structure on how to run a season – teams would play differing numbers of games, against different levels of opposition.
A senior team playing with 20 men against a junior team with 23 players, or against sides from the other colonies – for example in 1885, South Melbourne played four clubs from South Australia. Matches with senior teams against fellow senior teams were given extra consideration.
Premierships were generally awarded to the teams that lost the fewest matches in a given year, and the Bloods were particularly good at that. Late in the 1886 season, they had gone unbeaten in 48 consecutive matches across two years; Geelong were unbeaten 26 consecutive matches dating back almost a year.
The clubs met earlier in 1886, drawing 3.10 to 3.5 – if you’re confused, that’s because this was a time in the sport when behinds didn’t officially count in the same way. A match would end three goals to two, for example, regardless of the behinds scored.
But by September 4, 1886, it was clear either South Melbourne or Geelong would be premier – even with a month of the season to go. The victor would likely not lose again, and certainly not enough to lose top spot on the ladder.
The build-up to this virtual Grand Final was enormous, as detailed by The Argus newspaper.
“No football match ever played in the colonies excited the same amount of interest as the premiership decider between Geelong and South Melbourne on 4 September, 1886,” their journalist wrote.
“When the unbeaten champions of 1886, the Geelong and South Melbourne Clubs, met on the South Melbourne cricket-ground, on Saturday, to play the match which by universal consent was named the test match for the premiership, the spectacle presented was one of the most extraordinary ever seen in connection with any athletic sport in Victoria.
“Before 1 o’clock nearly 10,000 tickets had been sold at Messrs Boyle and Scott’s and the ‘Melbourne Sports Depot’, and without this provision the struggle at the ground must have been something sensational.
“At 2 o’clock there was a procession of cabs, shrouded in dust, passing along Clarendon Street, and the crush by rail caused for an hour a sustained jostle. Usually the players come out worst in a great football match; on Saturday the spectators did the fighting.
“It all culminated in a crowd of some 25,000 people, packed into a ground capable of holding about half the number. Only one ground in Victoria – the M.C.G enclosure – was worthy of such a match. Over £700 worth of tickets were sold.”
The match was generally dominated by Geelong, but poor goalkicking saw them lead 2.16 to 1.4 at three-quarter-time – a mere one-goal lead based on how the game was scored back then.
South Melbourne had the advantage of the wind in the final term but Geelong captain Dave Hickinbotham, who was widely declared as best on ground, proved crucial in the centres. Up forward, Phil McShane kicked three goals for the Pivotonians.
“Each of the South Melbourne men seemed to think that the fate of the team rested upon his individual efforts, and they all clung to the ball until the Geelong men relieved them of the responsibility,” The Argus’ journalist wrote.
“The Geelong system was more perfect but their forward players were wasting golden moments in fruitless scoring of behinds. On both sides there was much fumbling, scrambling, and miscalculation.
“The strained intensity of both players and spectators was something exceptional. When the ball went between the legs of the troopers’ horses the players followed and it was interesting to note how one fine grey charger accustomed to such crowds stood without flinching while the players were jostled against him.”
Geelong’s victory was secured with a two-goal final term and, with it, the premiership of 1886.
The Argus’ match report concluded: “The play was fair and manly all through and the central umpire (Shaw) had very little trouble.”
We can only assume our match report from the 2022 Grand Final will not end the same way – and hopefully it’s more high-scoring than four goals to one.
Footy has certainly come a long way in 136 years.
